CtrlS Opens Kolkata AI-Ready Datacenter, Plans ₹2,200 Cr Campus
CtrlS Datacenters, a leading provider of hyperscale data center services in Asia, has officially opened its first Rated-4 data center in Kolkata, marking a significant stride in bolstering Eastern India’s digital infrastructure. This state-of-the-art facility, located in the Bengal Silicon Valley, New Town, is the first of its kind in the region to achieve the coveted Rated-4 certification, signifying the highest standards of reliability and uptime.
The newly launched data center, dubbed CtrlS Kolkata DC1, represents the initial phase of a broader ₹2,200 crore investment plan by CtrlS to establish Eastern India’s most advanced data center ecosystem. This first phase alone offers a substantial 16 MW of IT load capacity, housed within a built-up area exceeding 90,000 square feet across three floors. The ambitious campus is designed for a total IT load capacity of over 60 MW, to be developed in four distinct phases, catering to the burgeoning demands of enterprises, government agencies, and large technology companies, particularly those engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
A Rated-4 data center distinction implies an infrastructure built for ultimate resilience, boasting fully redundant subsystems and critical components, concurrent maintainability, and a fault-tolerant design. This translates to an exceptional expected uptime of 99.995% annually, meaning less than 26.3 minutes of downtime per year. CtrlS has meticulously engineered the Kolkata facility to embody this robustness, incorporating dual power sources with N+N active feeds, diesel generator backup for 96 hours of N+N redundancy, and N+N redundant UPS systems. Beyond power, the data center features advanced, energy-efficient cooling systems, crucial for managing the high-density racks required by modern AI applications, and a nine-zone military-grade security architecture. Its construction adheres to Seismic Zone 3 standards and is elevated to mitigate flood risks, ensuring protection against natural disasters.
The strategic placement of the Kolkata data center is pivotal. Situated within Bengal Silicon Valley, it offers excellent accessibility, being close to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport and major national highways. Connectivity is further enhanced through access to multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs), cloud providers, and internet exchanges, with future plans to integrate with the Digha subsea cable landing station by 2026, promising improved international connectivity. CtrlS also emphasizes the facility’s commitment to sustainability, designing it for LEED Platinum certification and incorporating eco-friendly practices like water recycling and a focus on renewable energy sources to reduce its carbon footprint.
This significant investment by CtrlS aligns with India’s rapidly expanding digital economy and the increasing demand for robust data infrastructure. The country’s data center industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by widespread digital transformation, the accelerated adoption of cloud computing, and the imperative for data localization. Reports indicate that India’s AI surge alone could necessitate an additional 45-50 million square feet of real estate and 40-45 Terawatt Hours of incremental power by 2030 for AI-linked data centers. Kolkata, as India’s third-largest metropolitan city by GDP and with a substantial internet subscriber base, is a prime location for such digital expansion, fueling an immense demand for reliable data center services. CtrlS’s move to establish an AI-ready, Rated-4 facility positions Kolkata as a critical hub for innovation and growth in Eastern India, supporting the nation’s broader ambition to become a global AI powerhouse.